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Garbage: How population, landmass, and development interact with culture in the production of waste

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  • Brown, D. Paul

Abstract

Garbage is the waste and discarded items of society. Archeologists obsessively dig up is historic or prehistoric garbage – the useless, broken, and unwanted. Yet, these digs tell us a great deal about the society in which the items were used. Countless inferences can be made from what is discarded, how it is discarded, where it is discarded, and why. Was it broken, used, consumed, or unwanted? These same questions and answers have as much to tell us about modern societies. What is discarded and thrown away? Is it broken, or merely unwanted? Has it been consumed, or was it past it's “shelf-life”? Along with this archaeological inferability goes the notion of the society in which it is discarded. Is it a modern “developed” society? Using datasets available from the United Nations and World Bank detailing waste generation, economic development, population, and land area, this paper will argue that waste generation is not only a product of the society in which it is based, but also profoundly affected by the rate and the way at which the society has approached modernity. Countries will likely always produce waste, but what becomes waste, and how much, is a product of the particular society and the technology they have to eliminate it.

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  • Brown, D. Paul, 2015. "Garbage: How population, landmass, and development interact with culture in the production of waste," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 41-54.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:98:y:2015:i:c:p:41-54
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.02.012
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    1. Emrah Kocak & Hayriye Hilal Baglitas, 2022. "The path to sustainable municipal solid waste management: Do human development, energy efficiency, and income inequality matter?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1947-1962, December.
    2. Tamara Márcia Martins de Sá & Bianca Magalhães Benevides & Leila Moreira Bittencourt Rigueira & Patrícia Xavier Baliza & Elem Patrícia Alves Rocha & Patrícia Nirlane da Costa Souza & Fernanda Menezes , 2025. "Compost with High Soil Conditioning Potential Obtained by Composting Using a Portable and Low-Cost System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-13, April.
    3. Ali Aljamal & Mark Speece, 2024. "Building Student Sustainability Competencies through a Trash-Practice Nudge Project: Service Learning Case Study in Kuwait," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-18, September.
    4. Naama Lev & Maya Negev & Ofira Ayalon, 2023. "Sometimes Littering Is Acceptable—Understanding and Addressing Littering Perceptions in Natural Settings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-17, September.
    5. Ashpreet Kaur & Krista L. Thyberg & David J. Tonjes, 2025. "Zero-Waste Program Success: A Systems Approach to Indicators at the Micro, Meso, and Macro Levels," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-24, April.
    6. Moh, YiingChiee & -->Abd Manaf, Latifah, 2017. "Solid waste management transformation and future challenges of source separation and recycling practice in Malaysia," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 1-14.

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